On the 46th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 on Jack Hughes’ goal in overtime to capture Olympic gold for the first time since 1980.

The magic moment came at 1:41 of sudden death to send excited American players off the bench for a memorable celebration at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. After Hughes was able to force Connor McDavid outside on a dangerous chance during three-on-three, he hustled to a loose puck and pushed it ahead to trap Cale Makar. That led to Zach Werenski making a perfect pass across for Hughes to snap the golden goal past Jordan Binnington, sending the packed house into a frenzy.

It was an epic conclusion to a memorable tournament at the Winter Games in Milano Cortina. By winning the gold medal for the third time in their Olympic history, Team USA joined an exclusive company by duplicating what they did in 1960 and 1980. In an irony of sorts, they won by an identical score, like the USA women’s hockey team did in besting Canada on Megan Keller’s goal, which also came in overtime.

Hughes’ heroic tally capped off a great two weeks for Team USA, which won a record 12 gold medals in the Winter Games. That included Alysa Liu winning the women’s figure skating, leading up to the marquee event on Sunday afternoon in Italy.

Due to it being the final day of the Olympics, the game started after 2 PM in Milan followed by the closing ceremonies. That meant an early wakeup call for folks in North America. For people on the East Coast, it was 8:10 AM when they dropped the puck. However, it was after 7 in the Midwest and a very early 5 on the West Coast. In both New York City and Ontario, beer was served at 6 AM at bars who hosted viewing parties. Wherever you were, you woke up and were locked in on the finals rematch of the 4-Nations between close rivals.

It was well worth it. Both sides had to work extra hard to reach the gold medal game. Canada snuck past Czechia on a goal from Mitch Marner in overtime in the quarterfinals. USA needed a Quinn Hughes overtime winner in the same round to advance to the medal round. While Canada rallied from 2-0 down to defeat Finland on a Nathan MacKinnon power-play goal with 35 seconds left in the semifinals, USA cruised past Slovakia 6-2 to set up the final NBC and CBC wanted. Had the puck bounced the other way, it could’ve been an all-European gold medal match.

Boldy Gives USA The Lead

Early on, USA started well by pinning in Canada with a strong forecheck thanks to the diligent work of Jack Eichel, Brady Tkachuk, and Matthew Tkachuk. They put the big unit of Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, and MacKinnon the defensive, which was exactly how USA head coach Mike Sullivan drew it up.

Once they settled in, Canada began to use their speed and skill to spend more time in the USA zone. They tested Connor Hellebuyck early. Something that would become a theme throughout the game.

With the game still scoreless, some good defensive work from American captain Auston Matthews and Quinn Hughes allowed Matt Boldy to give USA the lead. He made a smart play by pushing the puck ahead to get past Devon Toews and split Cale Makar to come in on Jordan Binnington and score on a nifty backhand at exactly six minutes in. It was a brilliant goal from Boldy, who’s been one of the most overlooked stars. He plays in the shadow of Kirill Kaprizov and now Hughes, who’s been brilliant since being traded to Minnesota. Boldy’s goal highlighted what makes him a great player.

In what was a fairly even period, with both teams getting eight shots, Tom Wilson had the hit of the game when he caught Dylan Larkin with a huge check behind the Team USA net. He hits hard and clean while providing skill and grit, which make him the best power forward in hockey. In Canada’s 3-2 comeback win over Finland, it was the strong play of Wilson, Sam Bennett, and Brad Marchand that was instrumental. They remained together for the final under Canadian head coach Jon Cooper.

USA Kills Off Canadian Five on Three

In the second period, Canada began to tilt the ice. Taking advantage of the long change, they buzzed in the USA zone while piling up 19 shots in dominant fashion. Cooper even mixed and matched while double shifting MacKinnon to gain an advantage.

As they turned up the heat, Hellebuyck continued to stifle them. That included denying McDavid on a clean breakaway. After getting behind the USA defense, he moved in on Hellebuyck, who stayed right with him to make the big save against the game’s best player. Outside of that glorious scoring chance, McDavid was held in check by a stingy American defense. Both Jaccob Slavin and Charlie McAvoy were key factors in holding McDavid without a point. The leading scorer of the Olympics finished the tournament with 13 points.

A big moment came when McAvoy took a hooking penalty to put his team down two men for 1:32. With Jake Guentzel already in the box serving a holding minor, now it was up to the USA penalty killers and Hellebuyck to deliver against the best power play.

They entered that point perfect without giving up a power-play goal. To their credit, they limited Canada to three shots on the 5-on-3. Both J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck played a key role in helping USA go a perfect 18-for-18 in the tournament. Both Larkin and Brock Nelson were a big part of their success. Most notably, Hellebuyck made the clutch stops, including one on Makar.

Makar Draws Canada Even

As the Canadian pressure mounted in a lopsided second period, it was only a matter of time before they finally tied it. USA kept icing the puck. Eventually, they got burned when Makar got free on a faceoff win to draw Canada even with 1:44 left.

After Brandon Hagel set a pick, that allowed Toews to move the puck across the blue line for an open Makar. He made no mistake by firing home the tying goal past Hellebuyck to send the Canadian contigent into a frenzy. It was his second goal of the tournament.

Despite getting outplayed by a significant margin and outshot 19-8, USA was still tied with Canada entering the second intermission. They relied a lot on Hellebuyck, who was locked in from the beginning.

The Save of A Lifetime

With the game still tied at one, Hellebuyck made the save of a lifetime to keep his team’s Olympic dreams alive. On a Marner shot pass for an open Toews in front, it looked like he had an open net. However, Hellebuyck somehow got the puck with the paddle of his stick to keep it out.

Instead of Canada taking a one-goal lead in the third period, the game remained deadlocked. On a night that saw him make 41 saves on 42 shots, that was the defining moment. His goaltending was sensational. Ultimately, it proved to be the difference in a hard fought game between two great teams representing their countries.

Hellebuyck also stopped Celebrini on a breakaway to keep it tied. Celebrini was Canada’s most dangerous player, coming close on numerous occasions. He finished with six shots, tying MacKinnon for the most in the game. MacKinnon nearly had the winner, but missed with an open net staring at him.

At real speed, it looked like he rushed it. Ultimately, it proved costly for Canada, who were looking to win their first Olympic gold medal since 2014.They were going for a record 10th gold in hockey.

With less than seven minutes left, Jack Hughes took a high stick from Bennett that took out some teeth, bloodying him. That put USA on a four-minute power play. However, Hughes would later negate it by taking a high-sticking minor with just 3:23 left in regulation. As crazy as it sounds, he could’ve been the goat instead of a hero.

Following some four-on-four, Canada had an abbreviated power play. But the USA penalty killing unit got it done. Fittingly, the game went to overtime. Something that NBC analyst Eddie Olczyk referenced late in the third period, which he felt was USA’s best chance. He turned out to be prophetic.

Hughes Becomes An Olympic Hero

After intermission concluded, the teams returned to the ice for a 20-minute sudden death with 3-on-3 until a winner was decided. While it’s not the best way to decide the gold medal, it sure beats taking your chances in a shootout.

With lots of open ice to work with, it didn’t take long to determine the winner. Canada had both their three best players out to start overtime. After winning the initial faceoff, Makar passed the puck back for McDavid, who then came in with a lot of speed. But he was unable to get off a shot due to the strong defensive work of Quinn Hughes.

Following a turnover, it looked like the elder Hughes had the winner on his stick. After taking a pass across, his one-timer was gloved Binnington who got across to make the great save. McDavid then came out again with MacKinnon and Makar on a line change.

This time, he gained the USA zone with even more speed. Looking to skate around Jack Hughes and get in on Hellebuyck, McDavid ran out of room. Fortunately, Hughes wisely decided to stay back rather than take the gap away. That forced McDavid wide without even getting a shot.

A Werenski pass ahead came to Hughes, who beat a pinching Makar to the puck to move it ahead for an odd man rush. Werenski caught up to it and then bodied MacKinnon off before finding the trailing Hughes for a wide open shot.

It felt like the moment was frozen in time due to Kenny Albert’s call. There was a slight pause before he excitedly said,”Jack Hughes wins it. The golden goal for the United States. For the first time since the 1980 miracle, the United States takes the gold!”

By scoring the golden goal, Hughes became the answer to a trivia question – joining 1980 Olympic hero Mike Eruzione into USA history. Appropriately, a proud Eruzione was there to witness it. He was a guest analyst for NBC during the game. Fourty-six years later, he got to watch Hughes win an instant classic with Hellebuyck channeling his best Jim Craig in the net.

It wasn’t quite a bunch of amateurs pulling off the greatest upset by shocking the Soviet Union in the semifinals before going on to win Olympic gold over Finland. This was the best going up against the best to do something that hadn’t been done in over four decades. USA came close in 2002 losing to Canada 5-2 at Salt Lake City. They had their hearts broken in a 2010 rematch in Vancouver with Sidney Crosby beating Ryan Miller for the golden goal in overtime.

This time, they won the biggest game of their lives. Something they’ll one day tell their kids and grandchildren about. No matter what, their legacy will live on forever.

Hughes Praises Hellebuyck

Following a wild celebration, Hughes spoke to Kathryn Tappen about being an Olympic hero. The most notable thing he said was how well Hellebuyck played.

“Unbelievable game by Hellebuyck. He was our best player tonight by a mile. Unbelievable game. An unreal game by our team. That’s just a ballsy, gutsy win. That’s American hockey right there.”

Hughes’ interview was great. It was raw and summed up perfectly how much it meant to the country to win Olympic gold. Admittedly, I never thought I’d see it happen in my lifetime. I’m thankful that it did.

Matthews Gets Some Love

When they joined Sullivan at the podium following the victory, both Hughes’ brothers were quick to point out what they thought about Matthews. A tough question was asked by a reporter about what he’d take from the experience. He wisely responded by saying, “I’m just trying to live in the moment, man. Come on.”

Afterward, both Jack and Quinn had Matthews’ back.

“I think it doesn’t matter what anyone says now. Auston Matthews is a winner,” Jack Hughes pointedly remarked. “Auston Matthews is an Olympic gold medalist. He’s a winner.”

“Yeah, that’s what the media in Toronto should be talking about,” Quinn Hughes added. “Auston Matthews led us to a championship.”

While smirking, Matthews stated, “I got nothing else to say.”

It was well said by both on what Matthews meant to them. Although he didn’t have a goal in the big game, he finished with a secondary assist while continuing to play strong defensively going up against the best players in the world. He was a horse down the middle who drew the tough assignments and still wound up with seven points with a plus-3 rating in the tournament.

Quinn Hughes led the United States in scoring with eight points, including his clutch overtime winner that beat Sweden. Jack Hughes paced them with four goals and also had three assists for seven points. He got better as the games went on. Both Eichel and Werenski each had six points.

Guerin’s Team Concept Paid Off

If there’s one takeaway from Team USA finally climbing the mountain to win the gold medal in men’s ice hockey, it was the gamble general manager Bill Guerin took in constructing the roster. He took a lot of criticism from observers who couldn’t understand why certain star players were left off the roster.

As it turned out, Guerin’s emphasis on the team concept paid off. Rather than selecting more scorers such as Jason Robertson and Cole Caufield, he opted to bring back most of last year’s 4-Nations roster that was edged in overtime by Canada on McDavid’s winner in the same format.

Both Miller and Trocheck were considered controversial picks due to the perception that they wouldn’t help USA be successful. However, they certainly played their checking role well, with some superb work on the best penalty killing unit in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games. So too did Nelson, whose chemistry early on with Hughes helped unlock him in the preliminary round. Unlike last year when Hughes was ineffective, he grew in stature thanks to the early success he had with Nelson and Trocheck.

There was also the question about leaving off Adam Fox after he didn’t have a good showing last year. As good as he is, Fox doesn’t have the footspeed of Jake Sanderson or Noah Hanifin. He would’ve been a good complement to Quinn Hughes on the power play. However, they had both Hughes and Werenski, who’s right in the conversation for the Norris Trophy. He had an outstanding tournament.

When assessing how they played, each player fit into the system Sullivan wanted to play. It was a rousing success, resulting in the United States bringing back the gold.

Final Thoughts

Here are some final thoughts on the two weeks. While group play wasn’t overly competitive with the exception of Slovakia topping Sweden and Finland to finish first and earn a bye, the knockout stage was very competitive.

There were many hard fought games that went down to the wire. Nobody thought Czechia could push Canada in the quarterfinals. Yet they nearly pulled it off. Even though they benefited from a missed bench minor on Ondrej Palat’s go-ahead tally. Fortunately, Shea Theodore forced overtime with over three minutes left, with Marner winning it early on a great indidual effort.

You had Sweden coming back late to tie USA on a Mika Zibanejad goal with Jacob Markstrom off for a six-on-five to force sudden death. Quinn Hughes won it with a beautiful shot. Both he and younger brother Jack scored the prettiest goals. They really shined throughout the elimination round.

Other key players boosted their stock, including Juraj Slafkovsky, Lucas Raymond, Martin Necas, Tim Stutzle, Leon Draisaitl, Timo Meier, Dalibor Dvorsky, Mikko Rantanen, and Joel Armia. Samuel Hlavaj had himself a good showing as the starting goalie for Slovakia.

Overall, it was a very successful tournament. Combined with the women delivering a memorable gold medal game won by Team USA over Canada in overtime, hockey won.